· January, 2011

Stories about Eastern & Central Europe from January, 2011

Russia: Bloggers Protest Against Educational Reform

RuNet Echo  31 January 2011

Blog-based address [RUS] to Russian leadership with demands to cancel educational reform has received more than 10 thousands voices of support [RUS] within two days. Bloggers protest against wide reform of the high school that would reduce number of compulsory subjects to 4 while leaving such disciplines like Russian language, mathematics,...

Russia: Blogger Released After 14 Months of Penal Colony

RuNet Echo  31 January 2011

Irek Murtazin [RUS], blogger and former spokesperson of the Tatarstan's president, has been released today after spending more than 14 months in penal colony, “Novaya Gazeta” reported [RUS]. After published a gossip about the death of Mintimir Shaimiev, president of Tatarstan Republic, Murtazin had been accused of defamation and sentenced to 2 years...

Ukraine: “Three Nations”?

  31 January 2011

Paul Goble of Window in Eurasia cites an interview [ENG] with a member of the Lviv City Council, who explains [UKR] that the real conflict in contemporary Ukraine is not between ethnic Ukrainians and ethnic Russians – instead, three different national projects are competing for dominance within the country.

Russia: Valeria Novodvorskaya's Blog Hacked

RuNet Echo  31 January 2011

Vladimir Pribylovskiy reports [RUS] hi-jacking of Valeria Novodvorskaya‘s (Russian liberal politician and a former Soviet dissident) LiveJournal account [RUS]. “The Brigade of Hell,” dispersed group of generally pro-Kremlin hackers, took the responsibility for the attack. For the time being Novodvorskaya's account has been suspended.

Ukraine: Photos of Hutsuls

  29 January 2011

Sergey Maximishin (LJ user remetalk) shares his photos of the Ukrainian Hutsuls and their land in the Carpathian Mountains.

Russia, Ukraine: More Tributes to Playwright Anna Yablonskaya

  29 January 2011

At The Guardian's Comment is Free, Natalia Antonova writes about the Jan. 24 suicide bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport and about playwright Anna Yablonskaya, who was killed in the attack. Another tribute to Yablonskaya – at The Guardian's Theatre Blog, here.

Serbia, Kosovo: Comment on Dick Marty's Report

  29 January 2011

Belgraded.com comments on Dick Marty's “report on organized criminal activities committed by the Kosovo Albanian side during and after Kosovo conflict”: “As it turns out, there are now at least two things Serbs and Kosovars have in common – people who committed crimes during the war and politicians and other...

Ukraine: Support “The Pickle Project”!

  29 January 2011

Linda Norris and Sarah Crow are fundraising on Kickstarter in order to be able to return to Ukraine and continue work on The Pickle Project, which “explores contemporary and traditional Ukrainian foodways, introducing fascinating people, practices and places, through photographic documentation, audio interviews and video.”

Hungary: Filtering Foreign Media Content?

  29 January 2011

Hungarian Spectrum reports that the official Hungarian news agency seems to be supplying other media outlets with “wrong translations” of foreign media content, perhaps trying “to conceal some of the bad news–bad that is from the point of view of the government–from the Hungarian public.” Galamus Csoport, however, offers “accurate...

Bulgaria: Sofia's Sugar Factory Tragedy

  29 January 2011

Maya's Corner writes about Sofia's Sugar Factory, where two people died in 2009 when the neglected building collapsed, and the fate of other landmarks owned by “predator ‘investors’.”

Ukraine: The Newest Euro 2012 Scandal

  28 January 2011

Foreign Notes writes about the latest Euro 2012 controversy in Ukraine: “In other words, the Ukrainian national team could find itself banned from the Euro 2012 football tournament that the country is itself hosting…”

Russia: Domodedovo Bombings Expose Imbalance Between Traditional and Social Media

RuNet Echo  27 January 2011

Social media played a significant role in the coverage of the terrorist attack in Domodedovo International Airport near Moscow. Russian bloggers and journalists discussed the consequences of increasing role of blogs and Twitter in emergency situations. Gregory Asmolov analyzes the roles of the government, traditional and new media in the coverage of the attack.

Russia: “Anonymous Bomb” and “Random Scapegoats” of Domodedovo

RuNet Echo  27 January 2011

In the aftermath of the Jan. 24 suicide bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport, which killed at least 35 people and left over 100 wounded, some Russophone bloggers are once again discussing the ominous patterns that grow more and more obvious with each new major terror attack in Russia.

About our Eastern & Central Europe coverage

Filip Stojanovski
Filip Stojanovski is the Central Europe editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.

Daria Dergacheva
Daria Dergacheva is the Eastern Europe editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.